Obama loves McCain, Romney loves Clinton

7/3/12 1:18 PM EDT

Bloomberg's Kate Andersen Brower notices that invoking elder statesmen of the other party has become a recurring theme of this campaign, with Mitt Romney heaping praise on Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama fondly recalling John McCain's moderation:

Obama has made positive public mentions of McCain, an Arizona senator, at least six times over the past two months, including telling donors at a June 14 fundraiser hosted by actress Sarah Jessica Parker in New York City how much he had agreed with his rival on issues central to their 2008 battle.

Romney similarly has invoked Clinton, the former Democratic president, at least four times over the same period, including extolling him as a “mainstream” leader who worked with Republicans to shrink government and overhaul the welfare system.

Romney joins a list of Republicans who now praise Clinton, including some who tried to oust him from office after disclosure of his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. These include McCain, an impeachment supporter who recently has been praising Clinton for U.S. intervention in the Balkans in the 1990s as a way of encouraging Obama to do the same in Syria.

It's part of dueling attempts by Romney and Obama to define each other as out of the mainstream of their own party — and establish their bipartisan, centrist cred at the same time.